Author Archives: Jeff Carter

Welcome! Welcome, summer 2025! Welcome to everyone arriving at Rockbrook today for the start of their camp session. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We’ve been planning for camp, packing for camp, setting up for camp, and dreaming about camp for weeks, some of us for months. As the opening day approached, you could feel the excitement building, the beautiful energy of it all. Something special was about to begin.

We all felt this too, not just the campers. Our staff had just finished their week long training and orientation, and they were ready to get started. Our maintenance and housekeeping staff were finishing their preparations all around the camp. Our nurses were reviewing the health histories of everyone arriving, as our kitchen staff was finalizing menus and restocking our pantry. Our office staff had been communicating and organizing stacks of paperwork, and our Directors were pleased that everything in this intentional community was coming together. We have all been looking forward to this day.

The Beautiful Energy of Finally Beginning

Of course, the campers were the most excited. For the girls returning to Rockbrook, today was a day to reunite with their camp friends. Hug after smiling hug, coming back together after a year of school was marvelous. New campers too: while perhaps mixed with some nervous energy, they also were excited to find their counselors waiting for them eager to introduce cabin mates and help everyone get oriented to camp life.

Our staggered arrival system again worked well. It allowed the queue to move along smoothly and the girls in the same cabin to arrive approximately at the same time. This is great because the girls can immediately get busy together: making beds, arranging trunks in the cabin, learning names, decorating name tags, and touring around the camp.

Once everyone arrived, the first event was to gather on the hill for a quick all-camp assembly before lunch. The morning misty weather had cleared completely by then making the view of the mountains fantastic. Sarah introduced the campers to the Hi-Ups and the other Directors, explained a few safety things (e.g., the camp boundaries, and the lightning warning system), and led the whole group in a couple of camp songs. Felix’s cameo appearance was another highlight.

Comfort Food and Community

It’s somehow become a tradition of sorts at Rockbrook for the opening day lunch to be Rick’s homemade baked Mac-n-Cheese and watermelon. With a crisp salad and steamed broccoli on the side, it’s a warm plate of comfort. It’s so melty and savory inside with crunchy breadcrumbs on top, it really is a hit. He also prepared today a gluten-free, vegan version, that was also delicious.

Swimming Demonstrations

After a short rest hour, it was time for an introduction to the Rockbrook lake, our “refreshingly cool” mountain stream-fed swimming hole. At the beginning of every session we invite all of the campers to learn about the lake protocols, for example our “tag system,” and to demonstrate their swimming ability to the lifeguards. These “swim demos” involve jumping into the water from the dock, swimming out and back a short distance, and treading water for a minute. The guards classify swimming abilities into three levels with some being restricted to the shallow part of the lake and others requiring a lifejacket. No matter their level, though, every camper gets to enjoy cooling off in the lake in some way. Today’s warm and sunny afternoon weather made the lake quite inviting, encouraging the girls to jump right in and enjoy this classic camp experience.

Activity Skits

Another assembly, this time in the gym, was devoted to the activity options available to the girls. The counselors and specialist instructors performed skits to introduce what each activity offered. Combining costumes and songs, and of course plenty of props (think kayaks, ropes, helmets, tennis rackets, and craft supplies), these skits were often pretty silly… entertaining too. Later in the evening, the campers would be selecting their first set of four activities, so these skits were a great way to spur ideas about what to try. The new music activity, “The Rockbrook Songbirds,” where the girls will learn to play the ukulele and dive deeper into the Rockbrook songbook, seemed to turn a few heads with interest. Since each camper chooses her own activity schedule, the activities are a great way for the girls to meet other friends at camp who are not necessarily in their cabin. Rockbrook is just the right size, not super small or too large, to meet almost everyone and feel a part of the whole community.

Tomorrow we’ll all scatter and launch into our first full day of camp activities. We’re ready!

A Community of All Ages

One of the lovely things about life at Rockbrook is how much time we get to spend with people of all different ages. The girls who attend camp as campers can be as young as 6 years old, and they go all the way up to 16. And then there are the 17-year-old CITs, the college-aged cabin counselors, and the adventure staff, activity specialists, nurses and directors — all ranging from their 20s to their 60s! It really is true; we’re a community of 6 to 60.

The campers are sorted by grade in their cabins, and they sign up for activities by line assuring their instructors can tailor challenges to their age. Beyond the activity time and life in the cabins, however, everyday connects us with friends who are not our age. It might be when we’re grabbing a muffin on the dining hall porch during muffin break, or tossing our towel on the rock by the lake for free swim, or jumping into the gagaball pit for a game during twilight. Zipping with the awesome adventure staff, talking with the pottery specialists, and stopping by the health hut for our morning medications are other examples where we’re all mingling. It seems like we’re saying hello everyone we see: to the Hi-Ups when they’re setting the tables before lunch, to the Directors up on the porch of the office, and to the mob of counselors and campers in the “Rockbrook Runners” club as they jog by. Older girls talking with younger girls is the most natural thing here at camp.

All-Camp Shaving Cream Fight

Our all-camp special events are an excellent example of this too, like the shaving cream fight we held at twilight yesterday. This was such a fun event, literally for all ages.

We rang a bell to alert everyone to come down to the landsports field dressed in swimsuits. With some fun music pumping, the girls each grabbed a can of shaving cream and had a blast zooming around the grassy field spraying each other. The goal was simple; squirt and splatter the white slippery foam on everyone. Chase and be chased. Plunk blobs of shaving cream on anyone’s head. Rub it on their backs, pile globs into their hair, and help them create the wildest hairstyles possible.

Before long, everyone was covered in shaving cream, white and slippery, and looking utterly ridiculous. Of course, everyone was screaming and laughing the whole time too. The feeling of being covered in shaving cream, seeing everyone’s reactions, and watching the messy chaos unfold is simply hilarious. It’s the kind of silly fun we love at Rockbrook.

We also pulled out a sheet of plastic that, with a little water sprayed on it from a hose, made an excellent slip-n-slide. The girls were already plenty slippery, so they just launched themselves down the plastic and shrieked with delight on every ride. Tumbling and rolling, they had a blast.

An evening like this proved once again that these Rockbrook girls know how to have fun together. From the youngest junior to the counselors and directors, we all shared this experience of foamy glee. Where else can you laugh this hard, yet feel so relaxed around friends? Where else does age matter this little? Where else can something as simple as a shaving cream fight bring so much joy? Only at camp, of course!

Summer camp is sometimes compared to a party— festive, social, extraordinary, delicious, zany, and fun. Today at Rockbrook it was a pink party because to everyone’s delight we declared it “Barbie Day!” The campers knew that this would be one of our dress up themes this session so many came prepared. Some simply wore a pink t-shirt, while others had complete Barbie outfits with hats, sunglasses, and various hair decorations. A couple sported trim pink and white dresses, while others went more neon with wigs, scarves and skirts. From the nurses to the directors to the counselors and campers, there were Barbies everywhere today.

Hi Barbie!

Barbie is inherently confident, outgoing and carefree, much like Rockbrook girls generally, so it was easy for Barbie mannerisms to pop up around camp today. All day girls would greet each other, in the most enthusiastic upbeat tone, “Hi Barbie!” “Hi Barbie” was the appropriate response. It was also fun to ask people, “What kind of Barbie are you?” As you know there are many Barbies, from tennis pros to yoga instructors, to rockstars and fashionistas. Everyone was glamorous in some small way, turning camp into a “dreamworld.”

This was also the first day of activities this session, so we saw many eager Barbies scurrying about Rockbrook, shooting arrows, climbing the Alpine Tower, and flying by on the zipline, for example. Apparently, Barbie is quite artistic too, enjoying needlecraft, working with clay and planning weaving patterns. The lifeguards said that Barbie loves the waterslide and jumping off the dock at the lake as well. You have to admit; Barbie is amazing.

Why Costumes Matter

Dressing up like this is a big part of Rockbrook. We love it because costumes always add a little silliness to whatever we’re doing. They help us laugh at ourselves, lightening things up a bit, proving that it’s OK to let your guard down and enjoy the freedom in that. When a lot of people are dressing up, it’s even better, as that sets an overall tone that brings us together. Costumes help you sing more, dance more, and be more playful. They help you lean into things with a more joyful and open attitude. Putting on a costume is just more fun like this. Ask your girls, they’ll tell you.

Our Barbie theme carried over into dinner too. With pink shiny mylar table cloths, pink streamers and flags, and few Barbie treats to accompany our meal of hotdogs, roasted potatoes, homemade coleslaw and baked beans, the real showstopper was the Barbie brownies with pink icing. We sang a few songs from the Barbie movie and ended the evening with a Barbie fashion show. So much silly pink fun.

A quick note about mail… keep sending it! Here are the instructions to send mail, and here is some advice about writing a letter to your camper. Receiving mail is a big deal at camp, so this advice is super helpful. Trust me; your camper is craving something in their mailbox. Don’t let it be empty for too long! Go ahead and send something. It’ll make her day.